Monday Morning, May 13, 2002
The Mets are on the West Coast this week, with six night games in Los Angeles and San Diego, followed by a Sunday afternoon start to end the week. The good news is that this is the last extended run of late night starts for the season - after this, the only 10:00 games left are in San Francisco in August. In the meantime, stock up on coffee this week - you're going to need it!
Tough Decision for the Captain - Last week, John Franco learned that he has an avulsion of the medial collateral ligaments and flexor tendon. The Mets' 41-year-old team captain has to decide whether to undergo "Tommy John" surgery and try to make a comeback next season, or to retire instead. In an emotional press conference Thursday, Franco said that he would take some time to consult with medical professionals, Mets management, family and friends before making his decision. Brooklyn native Franco, who has been with the Mets since the 1990 season, has always symbolized class, teamwork, and the best of what baseball is about. kcmets.com wishes Franco all the best, whatever his decision turns out to be.
Mo Vaughn wore a wristband with Number 45 on Thursday in tribute to his injured teammate.
Earlier in the week, before learning the extent of his injury, Staten Island resident Franco was on hand to dedicate the newly built $3 million "Field of Dreams" at the borough's Port Richmond High School.
Hollywood Bruhaha - Mike Piazza received some criticism for partaking in a late night shoot last Thursday for the movie "Two Weeks Notice" with Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant. General Manager Steve Phillips laughs off the comments, saying that Piazza reluctantly did the shoot at the team's urging because it would be good for the organization. It couldn't have tired Piazza out too badly - on Friday he went three for four, including a home run and four RBIs!
Strange Injury - Armando Benitez caught his right index finger in the Mets clubhouse door at Shea on Friday night. The finger is cut on the front and bruised on the back. Benitez is listed as day-to-day.
Back on April 15th, Satoru Komiyama injured his finger while opening a garage door and landed himself on the 15 day disabled list as a result.
Perhaps Charlie Hough should give the pitching staff a tutorial on staying away from doors!
There's No "I" In Team! - Prior to Saturday's game, General Manager Steve Phillips lectured the team, and particularly Jay Payton and Rey Ordoñez, about selfish behavior. Ordoñez was singled out for being the only Met who didn't participate in that day's pregame fan photo promotion. There is speculation that Ordoñez was miffed that he wasn't in that day's starting lineup, and thus skipped the event in protest.
Payton was lectured for not waiting at home plate to congratulate Joe McEwing during a game in Phoenix when McEwing homered with Payton on base. The lesson did not fall on deaf ears, and Payton waited at home for McEwing after his game winning homer on Saturday.
Mo Milestone! - Mo Vaughn's single off of Mike Hampton in the 7th inning of Saturday's game was the 1,500th hit of his career.
Bring The Kiddies - The Mets and JPMorgan Chase are once again teaming up to continue the "Baseball is for Kids" program - they will contribute 175,000 tickets to be distributed to kids from low-income communities in the New York Tri-State area.
In The Swing of Things - This past homestand featured a lot of celebrity guests taking batting practice prior to the games. On Tuesday it was Maven from the WWF, on Wednesday it was New York Jets Head Coach Herman Edwards, General Manager Terry Bradway (who had previously brought Mets' director of scouting operations Gary LaRoque to the NFL Combine in Indianapolis as his guest) and Assistant General Manager Mike Tannenbaum, and yesterday it was members of the New York Islanders including Michael Peca, Claude Lapointe, Adrian Aucoin, Garth Snow and Steve Webb.
Vote Early, Vote Often - Fans are allowed to cast up to 25 online ballots per person for this year's All Star Team at either www.mlb.com or at any Radio Shack store. Mo Vaughn was on hand last Wednesday to help promote this program.
Spiderman Helps Out - As mentioned last week, Spiderman was on hand at Shea last Tuesday to present Al Leiter with a check for $1,000,000 for the Twin Towers Fund.
A Special Visitor - Prior to Friday's game, first lady of Venezuela Marisa Rodriguez de Chavez met with fellow Venezuelans Edgardo Alfonzo and Roger Cedeño.
Boycott! - The New York Post Page Six column reports that the Mets are boycotting Lotus, the trendy West 14th street nightspot. Mark Guthrie was turned away from the club a couple of weeks ago, and the next night, after pitching a one-hitter at Shea, Shawn Estes and his friends were turned away as well. The rest of the ballplayers, including regular Lotus patrons Mike Piazza and Mo Vaughn, have decided not to patronize the place any longer.
For Your Reading Pleasure - Mo Vaughn and John Valentin are featured in the upcoming book - "The Hitmen and the Kid Who Batted Ninth, Biggio, Valentin, Vaughn, & Robinson: Together Again in the Big Leagues." The book, written by Dave Siroty, chronicles how Vaughn, Valentin, Houston Astros All-Star Craig Biggio and former prospect Marteese Robinson came together while at Seton Hall to form one of the most potent college baseball teams of the '80's, and traces the baseball lives of the four men through college ball and their time in the pros.
Adding Color - Former Mets pitcher and executive and Brooklyn native Ed Lynch will be providing color commentary on this season's Brooklyn Cyclones broadcasts. FSNY announced that it will air ten Cyclones games this season, including the season opener on June 19th. Most games will be telecast again later on MSG, and the Cyclones can be heard on the radio on WSNR 620 AM.
Condolences - To former Met Todd Zeile, on the loss of his godfather as well. Zeile missed the first game of the Mets/Rockies series last Friday in order to be in California for the funeral.
Strawberry in Prison - Former Met Darryl Strawberry began serving a prison sentence at the Gainesville Correctional Institution in Florida for violating the terms of his probation on cocaine possession charges. Strawberry's tentative release date is June 29, 2003.
Get Well Wishes - to former Met Turk Wendell. In the same week that John Franco learned that he requires season ending surgery, Wendell was informed by the Phillies' team physician that he must undergo season-ending surgery on his elbow tendon. Wendell will get a second opinion from former Mets' team physician Robert Altchek this week, and expects to have the operation on Friday. All the best for a full and speedy recovery to a player who gave 110% during his tenure with the Mets.
Settling a Debt - Last year, Vince Piazza (Mike Piazza's father), a successful car dealer, told equipment manager Charlie Samuels that he would give Samuels a new Lexus if Samuels lost 100 pounds. Since that time, Samuels has lost 105 pounds on the Atkins diet. In a pregame ceremony at Shea last Saturday, Mr. Piazza happily paid off on the wager and presented Samuels with the promised vehicle - a convertible with a retail value of $75,000.
Special Feature: Baseball as America
Special Feature: Talkin' Baseball with Terry Cashman
Unless otherwise stated, these stories have been extracted from reports on www.nydailynews.com, www.nypost.com, www.nytimes.com, www.njo.com, www.newsday.com, www.bergenrecord.com, AP , and www.mets.com reports.
